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What if Walt Disney was the producer of Looney Tunes/Walt Disney Animated Classics/The Lion King
The Lion King is a 1994 American animated musical comedy-drama adventure film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 56th Disney animated feature film, and the 13rd animated film produced during a period known as the Disney Renaissance. The Lion King was directed by Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff and Don Bluth, produced by Walt Disney and Don Hahn, with Steven Spielberg as an executive producer, and has a screenplay credited to Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Its original songs were written by composer Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice, and original scores were written by Hans Zimmer. The film features an ensemble voice cast that includes Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Jeremy Irons, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Moira Kelly, Tress MacNeille, Rowan Atkinson, Robert Guillaume, Madge Sinclair, Julie Kavner, Jerry Stiller, Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, and Jim Cummings. The film is based on the novels Simba the Lion King and Timon and Pumbaa by Roald Dahl. The Lion King tells the story of Simba, a young lion who is to succeed his father, Mufasa, as King of the Pride Lands; however, after Simba's uncle Scar (Mufasa's jealous younger brother), murders Mufasa, Simba is manipulated into thinking he was responsible and flees into exile. Now an young adult, Simba is given some valuable perspective from his childhood friend, Nala, and his shaman, Rafiki, before returning to challenge Scar to end his tyranny and take his place in the Circle of Life as the rightful King. The film also follows a subplot involving a meerkart named Timon and a warthog named Pumbaa, who search a place as their dream home with no predators via the word "Hakuna Matata" (a meaning to "no worries"), coming across some scenes in the main plot. Though Roald Dahl declined numerous offers to have a film version of Simba the Lion King produced, he was finally conviced by his wife Liccy Dahl in 1988 and had selled the novel's film rights, along with the ones to Timon and Pumbaa, to Walt Disney (despite Dahl's disappointing reaction to [[What if Walt Disney was the producer of Looney Tunes/Walt Disney Animated Classics/Charlie and the Chocolate Factory|his film adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory]]) while he was promoting his studio's then-recent films Oliver & Company and The Land Before Time in Europe. Thomas Disch wrote a film treatment, and Woolverton developed the first scripts while George Scribner was signed on as director, being later joined by Allers and Bluth. Production began in 1991 concurrently with Pocahontas and The Pebble and the Penguin, which wound up attracting most of Disney's top animators. Originally, Walt was thinking about adapting Simba the Lion King and Timon and Pumbaa as two separate films. Some time after the staff traveled to Hell's Gate National Park in Kenya to research on the film's setting and animals, Scribner left production disagreeing with the decision to turn the supposed two films into musicals and was replaced by Minkoff. When Hahn joined the project, he and Walt, after seeing Timon and Pumbaa would not long enough to be a feature film and Simba the Lion King had a too dramatic, dark and sinister tone who couldn't be for a family film, had decided to make both stories be in the same film as two plots connected in some way with each other and changing the name to The Lion King and the story was promptly rewritten to make the two plots fit in with each other. Nearly 20 minutes of animation sequences were produced at Disney-MGM Studios in Florida. Computer animation was also used in several scenes, most notably in the wildebeest stampede sequence. The Lion King was released on June 15, 1994, to a positive reaction from critics, who praised the film for its music, story, and animation; it finished its theatrical run as the highest-grossing release of 1994 and the second highest-grossing film of all time. It is also the highest-grossing traditionally animated film of all time. The Lion King garnered two Academy Awards for its achievement in music and the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. After the film's success, a sequel, The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, was released in 1998 and a spinoff TV series Timon and Pumbaa, starring Simba's two friends and protagonists from the film's subplot, was premiered in 1995. In 2016, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". A CGI live-action remake of the film directed by Jon Favreau is scheduled for a July 19, 2019 release in the United States. Plot In the Pride Lands of Africa, a lion rules over the animal kingdom from Pride Rock. King Mufasa's newborn son, Simba, is presented to the assembled animals by Rafiki, a mandrill who serves as shaman and advisor. Mufasa shows young Simba the Pride Lands and explains to him the responsibilities of kingship and the "circle of life" which connects all living things. Mufasa's younger brother, Scar, covets the throne and plots to eliminate Mufasa and Simba so he may become king. He tricks Simba and his best friend Nala—to whom Simba is betrothed—into exploring a forbidden elephants' graveyard, where they are attacked by four spotted hyenas who are in league with Scar. Mufasa is alerted to the danger by his majordomo, the hornbill Zazu, and rescues the cubs. Though angry with Simba, Mufasa forgives him and explains that the great kings of the past, as well as God and Jesus Christ, watch over them from the night sky, from which he will one day watch over Simba. Meanwhile, a meekart named Timon, who is a social outcast in his meerkat colony on the outskirts of the Pride Lands, dreams for more in life than his colony's bleak existence hiding from predators. Though he is unconditionally supported by his mother Ma, Timon dreams for more in life than his colony's bleak existence hiding from predators. One day, he is assigned as a sentry, but his daydreaming nearly leads to the death of his Uncle Max by the same three hyenas who tried to kill Simba and Nala, as a cobra also breaks in and kidnaps Timon's love Tatiana, the princess of the meerkats. This becomes the last straw for the colony, prompting Timon to leave to find a better life. Timon meets Rafiki, who advises him to find his place in the world via the motto "hakuna matata" ("no worries" in Swahili) and to "look beyond what you see". Timon takes this saying literally and observes Pride Rock in the distance. Seeing it as a possible clue in his journey, Timon ventures to the rock, but then bumps into a warthog named Pumbaa. The two quickly form a bond and Pumbaa accompanies Timon. The pair arrive at Pride Rock, where Timon "looks beyond" Pride Rock to find a small cove near a pond, where he and Pumbaa decide to take a break there before continue their journey. Scar sets a trap for his brother and nephew, luring Simba into a gorge and having the hyenas drive a large herd of wildebeest into a stampede that will trample him. He informs Mufasa of Simba's peril, knowing the king will rush to save his son. Mufasa saves Simba but ends up hanging perilously from the gorge's edge. Scar refuses to help Mufasa, instead sending him falling to his death. As Timon and Pumbaa were also caught in the stampede, they were thrown off a waterfall. Scar then convinces Simba that the tragedy was his own fault and advises him to flee the kingdom. He orders the hyenas to kill the cub, but Simba escapes. Scar tells the pride that both Mufasa and Simba were killed in the stampede and steps forward as the new king, allowing a large pack of hyenas to live in the Pride Lands. With the pair exhausted, Timon decides to give up, until Pumbaa discovers a luxurious green jungle. The pair finally settle there with the philosophy of "Hakuna Matata". A short while later, the silence of the jungle is broken after Timon hears Tatiana's cry for help while about to become a sacrifice for the cobra. Pumbaa feels that once Timon saves her, the warthog would be alone again, but Timon disagrees, saying that once he rescues Tatiana, Pumbaa would join the colony, and that he would no longer be an outcast. Pumbaa is overjoyed by this, and the two of them rescue Tatiana and welcome her into their paradise. Eventually, Timon, Pumbaa and Tatiana encounter Simba in a nearby desert, who collapsed nearly dead. The trio rescue him and decide to raise him under their philosophy. Scenes are shown of Simba's chaotic upbringing as a hyperactive and affectionate young cub. Several years later in the ruined Pride Lands, Scar worries about not being favored among the Pride Landers while dealing with the problems mentioned by the hyenas and Nala. On top of that, Scar is driven mad by the delusions he has of Mufasa's ghost. To calm his mental illness, Zazu suggests Scar gets a queen, which leads Scar to choose Nala so they can produce cubs. However, she scratches him across the face as an act of refusal. Nala then sets out on a journey to find help against Scar's tyrannical reign. Now a young adult, Simba rescues Timon, Pumbaa and Tatiana from a hungry lioness who turns out to be Nala. She and Simba reunite and fall in love. Believing "Hakuna Matata" to be in jeopardy, Timon attempts to disrupt Simba and Nala's night out, but he comically fails. Nala urges Simba to return home, telling him the Pride Lands have become a drought-stricken wasteland under Scar's reign. Still feeling guilty over his father's death, Simba refuses and storms off. He encounters Rafiki, who tells him that Mufasa' spirit lives on in Simba. Simba is visited by the ghost of Mufasa in the night sky, who tells him he must take his rightful place as king. Realizing he can no longer run from his past, Simba decides to return home. Too much for Timon's horror, Nala and Rafiki explain him, Pumbaa and Tatiana that Simba had run off to challenge Scar, and need their help. After Nala leaves to follow Simba, Timon, who is hurt that Simba had left them, unsuccessfully tries to persuade Pumbaa and Tatiana to stay, believing he has everything he wants in the jungle. Pumbaa and Tatiana leave to follow Simba, and loneliness starts to overcome Timon. Rafiki appears again and helps Timon realizes that his true Hakuna Matata is with the ones he loves, prompting himself to take off after Simba, Nala, Pumbaa and Tatiana. While Simba and Nala arrive back to Pride Rock in their finest hour, Timon catches up and reconciles with Pumbaa and Tatiana, before then journeying on to Pride Rock. Aided by his friends, Simba sneaks past the hyenas at Pride Rock to confront Scar. After helping Simba and Nala with a distraction (an "luau" dance), Timon, Pumbaa and Tatiana evade the hyenas and run into Ma and Uncle Max who came looking for Timon (after Ma met Rafiki earlier in the film). After Simba confronts Scar, he taunts him over his role in Mufasa's death and backs him to the edge of the rock, where he reveals to Simba that he murdered Mufasa. Enraged, Simba pins Scar to the ground as Timon proposes that he, his family, Pumbaa and Tatiana help Simba by getting rid of the hyenas. Simba then forces Scar to reveal the truth to the rest of the pride. Nala, Sarabi, Timon, Pumbaa, Rafiki, Zazu, and the lionesses fend off the hyenas; whilst Simba battles Scar; while Tatiana, Ma and Uncle Max are directed to construct a series of tunnels beneath them, and Timon and Pumbaa use various tactics to distract the hyenas while the tunnel is being made. When the tunnels are finished, Uncle Max quickly knocks down the sticks, breaking the ground under the hyenas. However, the last few get stuck, prompting Timon to dive underground and break them himself, completing the cave in and causing the hyenas to be ejected through the tunnels. Immediately afterwards, Timon emerges out of the hole, which Ma was happy to see her son alive and praised him as a hero. Meanwhile, Scar, attempting to escape, is cornered by Simba at the top of Pride Rock. Scar begs for mercy and attempts to blame the hyenas for his actions; Simba spares his life but orders him to leave the Pride Lands forever. Scar attacks his nephew, but Simba manages to toss him from the top of the rock. Scar survives the fall but is killed by the hyenas, who overheard him betray them to Simba. With Scar gone, Simba accepts his place as king of the Pride Lands, thanking Timon and Pumbaa for helping him, as the rains begin to fall, restoring life to the land. Timon knew it was time to show his meerkat colony of what it's like with no predators. Later, after seeing that Tatiana is saved by Timon, the colony begins celebrate while Tatiana offers her hand to him in marriage. After Pumbaa reminds him, Timon asks the Duke to declare Pumbaa an official member of the colony - but the Duke says that only meerkats are allowed to live in the colony, and gives Timon a choice between anything he could ever want (power, riches and love) or being Pumbaa's friend. Timon finally decides to both have Tatiana for marriage and Pumbaa for being his friend, as he tells that they don't have to dig tunnels or worry about hyenas anymore, taking Ma, Uncle Max, Tatianta and the meerkat colony to live in the predator-free jungle to complete his "Hakuna Matata"; and he is praised as their hero. At the meanwhile, with Pride Rock restored to its former glory, Rafiki presents Simba and Nala's newborn cub to the assembled animals, continuing the circle of life. Cast * Matthew Broderick as Simba ** Jonathan Taylor Thomas as young Simba * Nathan Lane as Timon * Ernie Sabella as Pumbaa * Jeremy Irons as Scar * James Earl Jones as Mufasa * Moira Kelly as Nala ** Niketa Calame as young Nala * Tress MacNeille as Tatiana * Robert Guillaume as Rafiki * Rowan Atkinson as Zazu * Madge Sinclair as Sarabi * Julie Kavner as Ma, Timon's caring mother * Jerry Stiller as Uncle Max * Tommy Chong as Janja * Whoopi Goldberg as Shenzi * Cheech Marin as Banzai * Jim Cummings as Ed ** Cummings also voiced a mole that talks with Zazu and made a guest appearance as Scar's singing voice in certain lines of "Be Prepared" after Irons blew his voice. * Zoe Leader as Sarafina Production Development Casting Animation Music Release Home media Reception Box office Original theatrical run Re-releases IMAX and large-format 3D conversion Critical response Legacy Sequel and spin-off TV series CGI live-action remake Trivia * When Kiara was created, Kopa was unrecognized and thus overlooked, and the official trailer of The Lion King II identified Kiara as "Fluffy", the placeholder name of the cub at the end of The Lion King, therefore disowning Kopa. * This is the first time real dust was seen in a Disney movie. The second time was in Pocahontas. The third time was in Tarzan. The fourth time was in Brother Bear. * The film is one of Disney's first attempts at animating hair and fur, due to getting its technology to create fur. * The Lion King was the first ever feature film to be translated to European Portuguese and the only Disney film to be dubbed in Zulu. * Simba has 2,433,358 pieces of hair. * This is the second film to use the film's title at the very final scene, with Aladdin being the first, and Lilo & Stitch as the third (although it was in the logo's font to match the film's setting). * This is the second film in which James Earl Jones and Madge Sinclair appear as king and queen, and the parents of the protagonist, the first being in an R-rated live-action movie Coming to America. * Aside from the above, James Earl Jones and Robert Guillaume appeared in the movie Meteor Man. * The film, its sequel, The Prince and the Pauper, An American Tail: Fievel Goes West and Trolls are the only Disney animated features from the 'Disney Renaissance' era to have absolutely no humans in the movie. * Several lions with the same type as Nala appear when they battle for the last time. * Obviously over thousands of storyboard pages were created for The Lion King. Most Disney films have over 12 thousand storyboards and 10 thousand storyboards. However, it took one and a half years to storyboard, and it's possible how Disney made too many storyboards for it's films. * Even though the setting is definitely Africa, there are some minor anomalies in the selection of animal species portrayed in the movie. In the "circle of life" sequence, leaf-cutter ants are seen crawling on a branch, even though leaf cutter ants are not only found in South America, they are endemic there. Also Timon is a meerkat, and they are found in parts of Namibia and throughout South Africa, miles from Hell's Gate National Park where the main setting of the film is heavily modelled. * The film have later similarities with The Prince of Egypt: ** Both films have scores composed by Hans Zimmer. ** The sight of the Burning Bush or the resemblance of it is in both films and telling the same message: Save my people. In Disney's case, it was Mufasa's pride; and in DreamWorks' case, it was the Hebrews, God's people. ** Simba and Moses both ran away from their homes when someone has been killed. The difference is, Moses slew an Egyptian who was whipping a slave while Simba thinks he murdered his father, but the murderer was actually his uncle. In fact, Scar lied to him about it. Simba did not find out about this until he returned to the Prideland as an adult when his uncle told him the truth very late. He compelled Scar to tell the lionesses about it afterwards which caused the battle to begin. ** The storywriter is Brenda Chapman. ** A son or someone related to a son has died. In Disney's case, Simba's father, Mufasa has died. In The Prince of Egypt's case, the son of Rameses II (Pharoah) has died during the final plague. ** Both Moses and Simba meet someone when they run away from home. * Frozen and The Lion King have later similarities: ** They both open with a song that has chanting in it. "Vuelie" for Frozen and "Circle of Life" for The Lion King. ** They both have love songs. "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" for The Lion King and "Love is an Open Door" for Frozen. ** They both have a similarity with their parent(s) dying and the heir runs from the kingdom. ** They both have a song about letting go of their worries. "Hakuna Matata" for The Lion King and "Let It Go" for Frozen. ** After the heroes run away, they don't realize that everything is falling apart back home. ** Both the movies mention the words "fixer upper." ** The hero gets convinced that they're responsible for the death of their loved ones. Mufasa for The Lion King and Anna for Frozen. ** Everything in Pride Rock and Arendelle return to normal. ** Both the heroes return home to defeat an evil prince. Scar for The Lion King and Hans for Frozen. * The Lion King is also the highest-grossing Broadway show in history with $6.2 billion (with the box office of the film and the show combined, it is the highest-grossing franchise in any medium in history). It surpassed The Phantom of Opera, which has $6 billion. Category:What if Walt Disney was the producer of Looney Tunes/Movies